Lake Tahoe mountain ski resorts continue to open this week. After a nice snowfall last week, Heavenly began operations and opening ski runs. Heavenly Ski resort now has 4 of 29 lifts running with 6 of 94 ski runs open. This Friday two more mountains will open for business, and with the predicted snow storm on the horizon, they might just have perfect timing. Sierra-At-Tahoe will start running lift chairs this weekend and are very anxious for guests to arrive. The great folks at "Sierra" are going to be offering free backcountry tours all year long and are pumped to provide the free service. "Sierra" also just got word that they were voted the #9 Best Park / #9 Best Pipe / #6 Overall Resort in Transworld Snowboarding Magazine's, "2010 Resort Guide." Kirkwood Mountain Resort's long anticipated opening gets underway this weekend. Minimal lifts will be running but they are optimistic that much of the terrain will be available very soon to ski. So get your ski and snowboard rentals ready because it's time to hit the slopes.
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About a year ago I wasn't sure how I was going to use social media to help Ski Butlers and back then I didn't have a complete understanding of what social media was. Now I do and so do all our franchises! Follow us on Twitter, become a friend on Facebook, see our photos on SkiButlers.com, or view a video on YouTube.
Why are we doing this? To keep our customers and friends informed. We are now becoming the source of valuable and relative information for the ski resorts that we deliver to. Not too mention it is fun telling and sharing our stories. So if you are not following, a friend, or watching us, start to do it today!
Bryn Carey, Founder and President
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After a summer and fall of getting ready for the winter it is very good to see that the weather report is looking positive at just about all our 25 North American resorts with snow on the way and places like Whistler getting dumped on.
When owning a ski shop you can do everything in your power to work hard, advertise, and gear up for the season, but the one thing you can not do is predict the weather and unfortunately our best marketer is Mother Nature. Early Snow = Good Year. At last weeks Park City Lodging Association's luncheon the guest speaker was Brian Mclnerny who works for NOAA and he had some encouraging news; El Nino in the Pacific means a greater chance of a good snow year and we are in an El Nino. Now no one can predict the weather past 7 days but they can make good assumptions based on historical data.
In today's day and age of high tech snow making and groomers, ski resorts have been able to offer a very good product even when mother nature doesn't cooperate. With cold temperatures the past few weeks, places like Park City Mountain Resort, which is right out my back door, have been blowing snow at night when the temperature drops to make sure they are ready there ski season opener November 21st. So no matter what mother nature does, we are going to have good skiing and riding this year, mother nature will just a be a great bonus!
By: Bryn Carey, Park City, UT
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In the age of technology that we live in, people are now using game systems to practice and train for sports. The Nintendo Wii game system has several sports games that are helpful for athletes and more specifically snowboarders. Sure, the Shaun White snowboarding game is hardly educational, but it has a snowboard deck-like controller from which you control the game. I have never played this game and I wonder if it is really lifelike. Does it help you keep fine tune your riding skills and keep in shape during the off-season?
It is time that Nintendo comes out with a game for alpine skiing. The possibilities would be endless. The game could go from beginner level(green runs) all the way up to expert(double-black diamonds). Imagine, bombing down the resort of choice any time of the year.
I think the biggest hurdle behind this game would be a controller/pad that can realistically simulate downhill skiing. But nonetheless, there is a huge market for a product that can physical educate and train novices and experts alike. The end result would be more skiers at the resorts. Which, inturn, brings revenue to the community through lodging, dining, ski rentals and retail purchases.
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Obviously we would be a bit biased and say that anywhere Ski Butlers is offering their hassle-free ski rentals makes for a great resort! That does certainly add to a great resort but does not make the whole enchilada. Their are many attributes that combine and compliment each other to make for a great resort. "Afterthought: I have given them numbers below but now that I think about it, every person will order these to their own preference, think of the numbers as bullets!"
1st, you need to have good snow, luckily here in the west we have that, some winters more than others, but between Utah, CO, WY, CA and B.C you will find tons of snow every season.
2nd, you need to have a great town with other winter activities, great restaurants and bars, and shopping! Take Whistler, B.C. labeled by most that have been there as one of the best ski towns in North America - the nightlife is just incredible. If shopping is more your activity Aspen is your town, you will want to make sure you know your credit card limits, because at Louis Vuitton, Coach, Ralph Lauren, and others you can get there quick.
3rd most important thing to make a great resort, good skiing! It is one thing to have good snow, but the mountains need to be set up so that you can truly enjoy it, a great mix of beginner to advanced. The more that compromise is met the more family oriented it will be and the better time every one will have. Which leads me to my next point:
4th - It needs to be fun, or people need to have fun while they are there!
5th - infinity - there are many more, airport close by, nice weather, public transportation, lots of parking, your favorite beer on tap, etc. Too many to mention here.
A lot goes into making a great resort and I think everyone's taste define which is right for them. But since Ski Butlers is in 25 resorts in North America, most of them defined as the "Top Resorts" of the country, it may be safe to say that ski rentals (Ski Butlers) plays a big part in the decision.
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